The steel-furnished Masthead (with a huge company insignia along the back wall) crafts some serious elixirs in its rear brew tanks and the left side open kitchen offers fine pub fare including wood-fired red and white pizzas.

One of Masthead’s newer brewers, government marine biologist-turned-brewer, Chris Spann, shared beer thoughts as I settled in on a sunny Saturday afternoon in April ’17.

Inside a cavernous 19th century warehouse, BUTCHER AND THE BREWER is an exquisitely detailed beer hall opened during autumn 2014 in downtown Cleveland’s thriving East 4th Street promenade. Just blocks from national sports franchises including the Browns, Indians and NBA World Champions, the Cavaliers, its olden Prohibition atmosphere gets fully captured by the rustic wood furnishings, ancient metal ceiling fans and overall Industrial setting.

Ably combining upscale cuisine with a diverse array of beers, Butcher And The Brewer is a worthy choice for noontime nips, fine dining and sports tailgating. An open kitchen behind the 60-seat 30-tap bar and the rear brew tanks service the barrel-topped barroom tables and expansive right side dining area.

On the outskirts of town in Cleveland’s westbound Rocky River district, ROCKY RIVER BREWING CO. opened in 1998 and remains a neighborhood sportsbar fave. Sticking to proven stylistic formulas with its standardized mainstream fare, the sizable freestanding joint sidles individual malls and family restaurants.

Open for business since the Fourth of July, 2014, PLATFORM BEER CO. is arguably Cleveland’s best brewpub (with a second site now operating in Columbus). Utilizing a large, raw space just west of downtown Cleveland at the Gordon Square Arts District in the Ohio City district, Platform delivers a plethora of wide-ranging brews and allows dedicated brewing apprentices to sharpen their craft through their Incubator pilot batch program sponsored by owner Paul Benner’s Cleveland Beer Shop across the street.

Inside a defunct meat packing warehouse, Platform’s red brick-walled interior, Edison bulb lighting, black ceiling and exposed ducts provide an Industrial setting while the dog-friendly rear patio offers further seating. The 25-seat central bar contains 2 cornered TV’s, 24 tap handles and several brew tanks. Two community tables, an electronic bowling game and a satellite kitchen at the front complete the score as my wife and I settle mid-bar to sample some of the best suds this town’s got to offer in spades during a March ’17 sojourn.

For a soft-toned starter, City Boy Sour retained a pinkish champagne hue and flavoring as raspberry-pureed souring reigned upon sugary Sweet-Tart spicing and spritzy lemon salting to its straw wheat base.

Just across the Cuyahoga River from downtown Cleveland in the newly gentrified West Side Market section of Ohio City, capacious sports-barred brewpub MARKET GARDEN BREWERY features a front patio and community-tabled beergarden to sidle its Prohibition Era-styled interior. Opened November ’15 and initially visited March ’17, this multifarious pub was transformed from its dilapidated state to become the centerpiece of a proudly reconstituted market district.

Occupying a cavernous warehouse facility and a few doors down from the owners’ still-thriving sister brewery (the smaller-sized Nano), Market Garden’s custom-built walk-thru brew system, manned by experienced former Dogfish Head and Great Lakes brewer, Andy Tveekrem, allows patrons full access to witness the brewing operations.

A few doors down from its bigger business partner, Market Garden Brewery, in Cleveland’s historic Ohio City Market Square, friendly neighborhood joint, NANO BREW, features award-winning burgers and a few promising homemade elixirs by experienced brewer Andy Tveekrem.

Utilizing a two-sided bar broken up by a red brick wall, Nano’s signature bike handles, old wood floors, stage lighting, exposed pipes and rear open kitchen give it a rustic aura. A dog-friendly patio, oaken community tables and front cornered booths provide ample seating. The 24 draughts include three original Nano brews plus a fine assortment of Ohio microbrews.

On this sunny Saturday afternoon, March 2017, the place is packed to the hilt. So I grab my samplers and stand along the central corridor. Someone here must have a druggy sense of humor since the Wake ‘N Bake and Acid Trip burgers provide a happy snicker.

After several trips to watch Indians baseball games (one high-scoring, rain-filled game versus the Yankees had to be finished the next day!), I located wonderful Christian Moerlein, Crooked River, and Great Lakes brews in ‘97. Post-X-mas ’03, found nice selection at outskirts Backdoor Beverage (Thirsty Dog Old Leghumper Porter and Goose Island Christmas Ale) before going East to WILLOUGHBY BREWING COMPANY.

Located in a restored railcar repair depot, this suburban Cleveland restaurant-brewery in the town of Willoughby was so packed at dinnertime I decided to buy fine Razz, Wheat, Pale, and Wild Irish Red ales in growlers for the road (reviewed in Beer Index).

While in the heart of Cleveland, quaffed mild headless copper-toned cereal malt-sweetened Coop’s Poison Ale on tap across Jacobs Field at downtown sports bar, Alice Cooper’stown after visiting Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.

More importantly, nearby Strongsville houses the almighty BREW KETTLE TAPROOM & SMOKEHOUSE, a unique nanobrewery specializing in homemade brews as well as a tremendous selection of microbrewed tapped beer and an endless array of daily specials.